July 3, 2003 Greetings from Dillon, MT. We made the ride from Three Forks to here today in nearly perfect weather, and surrounded by awe-inspiring scenery. This is another one of those days that brings you back to cycling again and again and again! Both the bike and the Team had a trouble-free day. We did have one scare, however, and that was in the form of a missing retainer pin that holds the trailer to the rear axle. We have no idea how it came out, but it did. We discovered it while trying to park the bike at our first water stop. The bike just wouldn't behave, and LaValle noticed that the non-drive side part of the trailer had come loose. That pin was one of the spare parts we anticipated needing, so we were prepared. The scenery today was so beautiful that it is difficult to describe. Shortly after leaving Three Forks, we met up with a new friend - the Jefferson River. This is the westernmost branch of the three rivers that come together in Three Forks to form the Missouri. It is not as big as the Missouri, but it is deep and swift. It has a unique, almost midnight blue color when reflecting the sky, and it meanders all over the place. It is a wilder river than the Missouri, and our guess is that it changes course quite frequently as the years pass. There were two canyons (really valleys) involved in our travels today. The first one was very narrow with the mountains pinching in strongly from both sides. The other was very broad, and there was a lot of grassland, farm land (It would appear that the major crop in this area is alfalfa. There is a lot of it grown, and most of it is on irrigated land.) and range between us and the mountains on both sides. We are traveling upstream on all of these rivers, so we are climbing constantly. However, the climbs generally were not steep, since they follow the terrane of the river. The first canyon contained Highway 287, and the second Highway 41. Both are the product of erosion by the Jefferson River, but they are very different in character. That may be because of the character of the underlying soil, and the extent to which it could be eroded over time. The mountains, the hills and the greenery were all beautiful, and we spent the whole ride oohing and ahing about the sights. Wildlife was in abundance today. There were tons of birds, and LaValle will add some comments about them at the end of the Journal, since she is the expert. We saw some really rare birds, and it added a lot to the excitement of the day. We also saw a deer - we almost missed it because a big rig was passing us as we were passing the deer. LaValle remarked that it looked like one of those statues people put in their yards, it was so still. We also saw an antelope. It was by itself which is unusual, but we were happy to see it. We saw a group of six earlier in Montana, and it was a delight to watch them cavort in the field. We also got checked out by a Prairie Dog as we were stopped. We are still having identification problems with the mountains, but we were seeing the other side of the Tobacco Roots today. At one point, we passed a lake, and the Tobacco Roots where showing just above the lake with their snowy peaks just dazzling in the sun. We spent another day surrounded by mountains, and it really feels good. We are in the Rockies, and we will soon be crossing the Continental Divide - in fact, we will cross it a couple of times. LaValle and I talk about it all being "down hill" from there, once we make that crossing. Of course, there will be more climbing, but the symbolism is not lost on the weary adventurers! The weather today was nearly perfect. It was mostly clear, but the sky was dotted with those cottonball-like puffs, so representative of the Montana skies. The sky was a very bright blue, and things were crisp in a general lack of the haze we have seen from time to time. It was 43 degrees when we went to breakfast, and around 50 when we started. It warmed quickly to the 60's, but stayed nicely cool most of the day. It was 68 at 11:00, and reached the high 80's near the end of our ride. The wind was fickle today. It started as a slight headwind, clocked to a tail wind for a while and then about 15 miles from the end of the ride, it moved to the West, and blew like crazy. It pummeled us as a hurting side wind. It got bad enough, at one point, that we had to stop to eat and drink. However, it is part of the game, and gives the ride character???? We have talked about being around the Jefferson River most of the day. This river really has a lot of historical significance. It was correctly picked by the Corps to be the route to the mountains. It was named for the President who had the vision to initiate the Corps of Discovery, and shape the goals of the expedition. And, thought they didn't know it at the time, it was the Corps last chance to find a waterway to the Pacific. Of course, they were having doubts about finding such a thing anyway after having seen the Rocky Mountains, and viewing them as a "wall" to their progress. This river also lead the Corps to a lot of pain: the pain of crossing the Bitter Root Mountains, the pain of show and ice in the highlands and most of all, the pain of defeat - there was no navigable way to reach the Pacific Ocean, as they had so hoped. However, the Corps pushed on, and with the help of the Indians, crossed the Divide, and found the Columbia River. We could go on and on about today, but there are other days, and there is a need for rest and food. We hope you enjoy the words and pictures covering today, because it was special. Ron Note from LaValle... In addition to the bald eagle and western tanager, we spotted any number of pelicans and mountain blue birds. The blue bird enthusiasts have erected nesting boxes near the road so it makes spotting these easier. We also saw two osprey nests. The first was just outside of Cardwell and it was inhabited by a very locquacious mother. Prior to our riding near her nest, we could hear her and then as we stopped, she lifted out and flew around for some time. The second was later and closer to Dillon and was inhabited by a much more mellow osprey. Osprey in flight near Cardwell, Montana Sedate osprey in nest near Dillon, Montana